I recall you don't like pressurized gas appliances, but... as a suggestion, a cheap propane 1 burner stove and a single 1 lbs disposable propane bottle are handy for exactly the situation you reported on. Boil a little water, shut it down. Just a thought.

There used to be absorbtion refridgerators that ran on kerosene... probably still are, although you'll pay a premium for one. A common modern example is an RV "three way" reefer (AC/DC/propane) running on its propane source. Not really anything to wear out on an absorbtion reefer - no moving parts.

Another thought - so far, two of us reported loss of frozen food stores. Even a fairly large chest-type freezer takes a very modest amount of electricity to operate. I suspect the the cost of a SMALL portable generator to power a freezer is less than the cost of the contents of the freezer... when we have prolonged outages, the freezer is the 2nd thing I provide electricity to (1 - reefer, because there is a fine line between OK and spoiled on non-frozen perishables; 2 - freezer). Also, the freezer usually only needs to be run once a day to keep contents safely frozen - at least, if the Wx is moderate or if it is "earth-sheltered" (in a basement).

Back to work... thanks for the report. Reminds me that I need to check OUR mantle supply...